Citation

Anciaes PR, Stockton J, Ortegon A, Scholes S. Travel Behav. Soc. 2019; 15: 88-101.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.tbs.2019.01.006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

We examined the associations between road traffic conditions, walking, and positive mental wellbeing among survey participants in four urban neighbourhoods in England bisected by busy roads (N = 708). Sequential models were fitted, examining the associations between objective and perceived traffic conditions (volume and speed); between perceived traffic conditions and the ability to walk locally and use busy roads; and between the perceptions of traffic conditions, ability to walk locally and use busy roads, and wellbeing. Our study had three main findings. Firstly, perceptions about traffic volumes and speeds were formed jointly and depend on traffic composition and on how the speed of traffic varies during the day and relates to historical and reference values. Secondly, participants who perceived the traffic volume as heavy and the traffic speed as fast were more likely to report that the traffic conditions were a barrier to their walking locally and that this was a specific reason why they avoided the busiest road in their area. Thirdly, the participants classed as having the worst combination of perceptions of road traffic conditions, and the reported impacts of them on their walking, had on average, significantly lower wellbeing (Model 1: p = 0.009, Model 2: p = 0.002), independently of other factors such as demographics and location.

Language: en

Keywords

Motorised traffic; Pedestrians; Perceptions; Roads; Walking; Wellbeing